Sword Art Online - Another's Story
by youareodd
Summary: This Story follows the events of the Sword Art Online Anime/Manga, in the perspective of an OC, known inside the death game, as Sakayama.
1. Trapped

SAO - Another's story

Chapter 1 - Trapped

My name is Sakashi Kuriyama. I am now a player of SAO, my username Sakayama.

I put my Netgear on and tell it to Start the Link. I close my eyes. I am now logged in to Sword Art Online. I am wearing a blue T-Shirt with a leather strap-vest over it to shield my chest. I'm wearing fingerless gloves and a scabbard on my back. I draw my longsword. It is made from a fine steel and glows without ware. I put away my sword and walk down to the Town of Beginnings market-place. To start of, I've got 30,000 Cor. Everything here is pretty cheap, but I still can't waste my Cor.

I buy some health potions and some antidotes. I even found a teleport crystal. When I get to the fields outside of the town, I hunt some boar to raise my level. My goal is to gain 4 levels, to get to level 5 before my next play session. I found a boar! I draw my longsword and swing at the boar, slashing it's left eye. It gets me on my back and charges. When it is almost on me, I kick it from the ground, putting it on it's back, and getting up. I raise my sword to the sky, and it glows a faint shade of red. A Sword Skill. I run at the boar and dig my sword into it. It collapses into millions of tiny lime-green shards. I have gained a level.

When I find another boar, I am teleported back to the Centre of the Town of Beginnings. Everyone is here. After 5 minutes of waiting, the sky turns a dark shade of red, and the sky starts bleeding like a slaughtered pig. The blood turns into a giant man in a mages robe. The game master, Kayuba Akihiko is the man. "Welcome, to the first ever VRMMORPG, Sword Art Online!"

Everyone starts mumbling to each other. "My name is Kayaba Akihiko, the creator of SAO and Nervegear! Anyway, let's get down to business! As you have probably noticed by now, the Log out selection on the menu is gone. Let me make this clear, this is not a defect. I repeat, this is _not_ a defect. This is a feature of Sword Art Online."

"A feature?" A player a few metres away says.

"From this point on, there is no longer _any_ way to log out of SAO, and if someone from the outside tries to log you out by taking the Nervegear off of your head, the Nervegear will send deadly Microwaves you your brain, killing you. Also, if you die inside of SAO, your real self will perish. The only way to escape SAO now is to clear the game, all 100 floors. Finally, I've got a little suprise for everyone! Everybody, there's a little present in your inventories from me" Everyone, including me, starts going through their inventories searching for the item. One by one, every player has a palm-sized mirror in their hand. Everyone starts glowing blue, and are transformed into their real selves. "This concludes the Orientation ceremony of Sword Art Online, goodbye, and goodluck."

People around me are burdened with despair, some are crying, and some have even fainted.

_**Floor 1 - 6:59 pm - Town of Beginnings **_

I cannot die, I will not let myself. I will clear this game, and set everyone free. First though, I'll need to level up. I've got to be a lot more careful if I'm going to survive. After a while of hunting, I reach level 13, and I call it a day. I stay at a quiet inn in the next town over, and I buy a new sword. The handle is navy blue, the hilt is made of cheap silver. The blade is about as long as my arm. I holster my sword and go to sleep for the night.

_**3 weeks later...**_

_**Floor 1 - 8:34 am - Town of Beginnings outskirts**_

Three weeks I've been stuck here, in SAO. I'm now level 28, I've been levelling quickly. It's all thanks to a rare item I found about a week ago...

There was a secret dungeon under the Inn I stayed in on the first night. At that time I was Level 18. I made it through the dungeon, making my way up to level 20. I then encountered the mini-boss, Scora the Goblin Lord. I drew my longsword. It roared and ran at me, drawing its own weapon, called: Arocs Fang. I parried his first strike, and countered with my own. It hit him in the upper chest, reducing his Health bar to half. He spun around, out of balance. I thought I had enough time to strike again, but as I began my attack, Scora spun with his Fang, and slashed me in the left arm. My health bar dropped to a single quarter. I was lucky that I had parried his first attack. I raised my sword to the ceiling and it started glowing a pale green. I slashed at Scora, but he parried my strike. Luckily, my Sword Skill hadn't stopped, so I struck again. This time, it hit his face. Scora screamed as the sword absorbed his health, and added it to mine. His health fell to 0, and he was dead.

Scora dropped a lot of invaluable items, and a bit of Cor. But he dropped the one item. It was called the X-Scissor enchantment. It was an enchant item. I could use it on one sword. It's enchantment granted swiftness, luck, and of course, double EXP for every kill. I am now at a meeting with a few people I met 2 weeks ago. There names are: Cora, Opilla, Harin and Swavé. Cora's blue hair matched her sparkling eyes, and her sword gleamed a pale yellow. Opilla was a man that you could trust, he was bald, had a small goatee, and he used two daggers instead of a sword. Harin was a sneaky guy. He used a curved sword, he called it his trusty razor. Swavé was a small boy, about 13. He wore a black robe, and he used a black one-hander and a shield.

"I think we should form a _guild_" says Opilla.

"Ya think?" Asks Harin, "I'm not sure I'm ready for that"

"I'm fine with it" says Cora, with a giggle. Swavé sat in a chair with his feet up on a table not talking. "All in favour, say I" says Opilla.

"Aw shucks" says Harin, "I!"

"I!" Cora says happily.

"I..." Says Swavé.

"I" I say, "First order of business, a name for our guild"

"what about..." Says Harin, "Harin's Dominion! Haha!"

"Or not..." I say with a laugh.

"How about The Diamond Blades?" Suggests Cora.

"I like it" I say.

"Me too" agrees Opilla.

"Ok, our first dungeon raid as a guild" I say, as I lay a tattered map on the table. Swavé sits up properly on his chair and begins watching. I point to a castle icon in the middle of a forest. A dungeon window pops up in front of every guild member. The window reads: Forest dungeon - Read more? Everyone taps OK and I read aloud: "The forest dungeon contains plant monsters levels 20-25. It is on Floor 1, and is south of the town of beginnings, in the origin forest. At the end of the dungeon, you will encounter the mini-boss: Drona the Hog King. Drona will drop 25 Cor for each guild member. After the fight, a door will unlock, and you will be granted access to the treasure room. The treasure will be kept secret."

We are now in the Origin Forest searching for the dungeon. The forest is inhabited by hordes of level 18 Boars. We make it to the castle. It is covered in moss and enveloped in vines. When we touch the giant gate, it opens, and we step inside. We are now in a room with a single chest. "Nice!" Says Harin, rushing over to open it.

"Stop!" Says Cora, "It's _obviously _a trap!" But it's too late, he's already opened it. The chest grows swords for teeth and starts chomping at Harin.

"A mimic!" I say. We draw our weapons and charge in to attack. Cora gets the first strike.

"Switch!" She says to Opilla. He rushes in to strike, and slices one of its sword teeth.

"Harin, Switch!" He says. Opilla steps back and Harin hops over his head. He digs his sword into the Mimic. "Switch!" He says to me. I rush in, and grab the mimic's lid handle. I stab at it with my longsword, "Swavé, give it the final blow!" He runs in, his black coat swaying with every step, and jump stabs the Mimic. It's health bar drops empty, it's dead. "This dungeon is gonna be a LOT harder than we thought. A secret door opens up on the wall and we pass on through.

On the other side of the door is a narrow room full of lizard warriors. We run through them, our weapons held out to our sides to strike them as we run. We run into the next room, excluding Opilla, who stays behind to finish off the Lizards. This room consists of a wall covered in chests, and a small black rabbit on the floor. "What's with the bunny?" Asks Harin.

"I don't know" Cora says, "but don't let your guard down"

We go searching through the chests, as there is a door with a lock on the wall. We are assuming there is a key inside one of these chests. "Found something!" Says Swavé. We walk over to Swavé to take a look at what he found. A golden key.

We unlock the door and proceed to the next room. "Wait for me!" Says Opilla, jogging to catch up to us. The rabbit slowly follows us into the room. When we are all inside, including the rabbit, the door shuts behind us. "Uuhhh..." Says Cora. There are no doors or windows in this room. We all stare at the bunny, wondering what it has to do with anything. When we have all lost hope on trying to find a way out of here, we sit down on the floor helplessly. "There ain't no way out!" Says Harin. "The Rabbit holds answers" says Swavé, "Bunny! Tell us everything you know!"

"Uhhh... It's a Bunny..." Says Harin. But Swavé is right. The Rabbit is part of the dungeon. It starts to grow bigger with a hunched back and talons. It's rabbit nose morphs into a dirty brown pig nose, and it starts snorting uncontrollably. It's monster description changes from Rabbit, to Drona the Hog King.

_**To Be Continued...**_


	2. Floor 1, Complete!

SAO - Another's Story

Chapter 2 - Floor 1, Complete!

**Floor 1 - Forest of Origin Dungeon - Boss Room**

Drona materialises a battle axe and raises it towards the ceiling. "Get ready!" Says Opilla" Harin takes the first go at Drona. He smashes his one-hander into Drona's axe, chipping his sword.

"Cora, Switch!" Cora runs in as Harin jumps back, slashing her curved sword into Drona's torso. It stumbles back, smashing into the wall. It recovers quickly and rams it's axe into Cora. "Cora!" Swavé yells, kneeling at her side. Her health keeps dropping. Opilla throws a dagger into Drona's eye. Cora's health bar is now red. Drona raises his axe and slams it into the ground. Opilla dodges "Saka, switch!" I jump into the range of Drona. I look over at Cora, she's almost dead.

I raise my longsword and it starts glowing a sickly green. It slams into the top of Drona's head and slices through the rest of his body. Drona smashes into millions of tiny pieces. I have killed the boss. I don't have time to celebrate. I run over to Cora, ruffling through my inventory trying to find anything that could heal her. Then I find it, a Drona drop. I take out the Hi-Potion and lay it on Cora's forehead. She starts glowing a bright red, and her health increases to half-way. "Thank you!" She says, rapping her arms around me. I blush and pull away. A door appears on the wall behind where Drona was standing, and opens. "The treasure room" I say.

We walk into the treasure room, there are five chests, one for each of us. Harin opens his first. "Awesome!" He says with a huge smile. "I got a new two-hander! It says it's called... Defiance!"

"I'll open one then too!" Says Cora, opening hers. "100 Cor!" Everyone gets wide eyed as they crowd around Cora's chest window. A whole 100 Cor, plus the 25 for beating Drona.

"Swavé, you go next" says Opilla. Swavé kneels down next to a chest and opens it.

"A one-hander longsword, called: Snasher"

"Opilla, I think you should open yours next" says Cora. He nods and opens a Chest. He gasps and his eyes get wide. "What!?" Says Harin.

"It's a pair of Wolfin Claw gloves!" He says. "I heard that these are only available on higher floors!"

"So, are they really strong?" Asks Swavé.

"I heard so, yes. Anyway, Saka, open yours!" I open the chest that hasn't been taken yet. The chest window pops up in front of me, and it lists: 'Blade of Lunar-Rising'. "The Blade... Of Lunar-Rising..."

"Are you serious!?" Says Harin. "That's one of the rarest first floor items in the game!"

**Floor 1 - December 2, 2022 - Town of Beginnings**

We've now been stuck in here for over a month. A man named Diabel, has issued a meeting on how to kill the first main boss. "Everyone!" Says Diabel. "Thank you for coming to our meeting! My name is Diabel! I like to think of myself as a knight!"

"There's no job system in this game!" Says a man to my back. I'm sitting on the steps with my guild. Also, we've gained a member. Her name is Krankome. She has short-cut blonde hair, and fights with a bow-and-arrow. Diabel starts getting serious, "out parties today have found the boss room at the top of the dungeon tower." This is followed by people gasping and Diabel raising his hand to quieten them. "We need to kill the boss, reach the second floor, and tell everyone waiting at the Town of Beginnings that this game _can _be beaten! Everyone here today shares this responsibility! Do you all agree?" People nod to each other, mumbling. One blue-haired boy starts clapping, and everyone else starts clapping, excluding one black haired boy to the right of me.

"Ok, let's get planning, then!" Says Diabel. "Everybody divide into groups of six!" We're all set. Harin, Opilla, Cora, Swavé, Krankome and I are already a group of six. And we don't even have to set up a party, as we are a guild. There are two other small guilds around. "Ok, now that everyone is in partys-"

"Not so fast!" A man with orange hair jumps down the steps next to Diabel. "The names Kibaou! I need to say something before we take on the boss! Some of you here need to say sorry to the many people that have died so far!"

"Kibaou, are you referring to the beta testers?" Asks Diabel.

"Of course I am! The day this crap started, the beta testers ditched us and hogged all the Cor and items for themselves! They took all the good hunting spots, and all the easy quests, so they could get stronger! Then, they just left the beginners back in the dust! I'm sure _someone _here was in the beta! Show yourselves! Return all of the items and money you've taken, otherwise we can't trust them as party members!"

"If I may interject." A dark man, who looked very similar to Opilla stepped down to Kibaou. "My name is Egil. Kibaou, tell me if I have this right. You're saying, because the beta testers didn't take care of them, many beginners died. That they should apologise, and provide compensation. Correct?"

"Well... Yeah"

"You go this guide book, didn't you?" Egil held up a tattered book for all to see. "It was sold for _free _at the item store."

"Sure I did... Why?"

"The book, every bit of information, was provided by the beta testers." People around started mumbling in suprise. "Listen! Everyone had equal access to this information! Though, many people _still _died! Now, can we _please _get to talking about the boss. Kibaou grumpily sat down on a step and Egil returned to his place.

"Alright, then, can we continue?" Asked Diabel. "The latest issue of the guide book was just released. And it contains information on the boss. The bosses name is Illfang the Kobold lord. He is accompanied by assistants known as Kobold sentinels. He is armed with an axe and buckler. Though, when his health bar turns red, he will shed his weapons and start using a curved sword type called a Talwar. His attack pattern will change too. Items will be distributed, EXP goes to the party that kills the boss. And whoever receives a drop, keeps it. Objections?" This was followed by more mumbling. "Get ready then. We leave at ten in the morning!"

**Floor 1 - December 3, 2022 - Dungeon Tower**

"Listen up everyone!" We had just reached the boss room, and Diabel is going to say some words. "I have only own thing to say! Let's win!" He turned around, and lay his hand on the door. It creaked as it opened and came to a loud halt. We stepped into the dark room and discovered Illfang sitting on a throne at the back. The room suddenly lit up, and Illfang sprang from his seat, and landed on the ground in front of Diabel. He roared and lifted his axe and buckler. Four Sentinels spawned next to him and started running towards us.

"Commence attack!" Said Diabel, pointing his sword at Illfang as our raid group charged at him. Our guild is squad C. Our job is to guard Squads A and B until the Sentinels are dead, then we switch in to attack the boss. "Squad C, keep guarding and prepare to switch!" Said Diabel.

"Swavé, you take the first attack!" Said Opilla. He nodded.

"Now!" Swavé rushed to Illfang and swung his one-handed longsword at him. He slashed his torso and jumped back. "Krankome, attack while I'm distracting him!" Said Swavé. Krankome readied her bow and shot Illfang. A man in Squad B stabbed him with his spear, lowering his health to the red zone. He threw away his Axe and his Buckler. "Looks like the information was right!" Said Kibaou.

"Stand back!" Said Diabel. "I'll go!" He rushed in, knocking many players aside. He raised his sword and activated a powerful sword skill. Illfang drew the giant sword strapped to his back and Diabel charged in. "No!" Said the Black haired boy from the meeting. His name was Kirito. "Jump back as fast as you can!"

Illfang jumped up and latched onto the ceiling. Diabel stood underneath him. The monstrous Kobold dropped onto Diabel and he went stumbling back. "Diabel!" Said Kibaou. Kirito ran over to him and handed him a Hi-Potion. Diabel rejected the potion. His health was in the red zone now. The two talked for a while until Diabel was dead. Squads A &amp; B were still fighting the boss. Kirito, and his party member, who made up Squad D, are now attacking the boss. Kirito executes a large slash, his sword connecting with Illfsng's head. The Kobold lord's health has run out. Illfang is dead.

"Congratulations, Kirito!" Says Egil. "This victory belongs to you." People start cheering and clapping towards Kirito's defeat of the first main-boss. "Why?" Says Kibaou. "Why did you let Diabel die?"

"_Let _him die?" Says Kirito.

"Of course! You knew that technique the boss used! If you had told us about that, Diabel would still be here!"

"He must be a beta tester! He knew the attack patterns! He knew, but he didn't tell us!" Says Harin, pointing at Kirito.

"Harin, shut up!" Says Cora.

"Other beta testers are here too, aren't they!? Come out!"

"Hey, calm down!" Says Egil. Kirito started laughing crazily. Everyone stares at him wondering what he's laughing at.

"A beta tester?" He says. "I wish you wouldn't pool me with those noobs. Most of the thousand testers were beginners, who didn't know how to level up. You guys are better than they are. But I'm not like them. I made it higher than anyone else during the beta test. The reason I knew the bosses technique, was because I fought monsters with my sword skills on floors high above us. I know a lot more. Way more than any information broker, or beta tester."

"Th- That's way worse!" Says Kibaou. "That's way worse than a beta tester! You're cheating!"

"A beta tester... And a cheater..." Says Harin. "A beater!"

"A beater?" Says Kirito. The room goes silent, and Kirito smiles. "I like it. That's right. I am a beater." He opens his menu, and equips the boss drop that he obtained, the coat of midnight. "From now on, don't confuse me with the other testers." He started walking up the staircase that lead to the second floor. When he reached the top, Asuna ran up to him.

**Floor 2 - January 1, 2023 - Town of Mastery**

The guild all clink their drinks together. "Happy new year!" We all say.

"What should our first act as a guild be for the new year?" Asks Opilla.

"I think we should just do some vigorous levelling!" Says Harin.

"I agree!" Says Krankome.

"What about relaxing?" Says Swavé.

"We can do _that _when we've cleared the game." Says Cora with a giggle.

"We could clear a mini-dungeon." I suggest.

"And if we do Saka's idea, we can satisfy Harin and Krankome's wants aswell." Says Opilla. "And Swavé, if you want, you can stay here and relax."

"Nah, I'll come. I don't want to be such a low level on my birthday tomorrow!"

"Oh, Happy Birthday for tomorrow Swavé!" Says Cora, ruffling his hair. Swavé blushes and pulls up his hood.

"And Cora," says Opilla.

"Yes?"

"_You _can choose what dungeon we clear, since you didn't have any suggestions" Opilla opens the guild Floor 2 map and lay it on the table.

_**To be continued...**_


	3. The Shivering HammerSpikes

SAO - Another's Story

Chapter 3 - The Shivering HammerSpikes

**Floor 21 - February 26, 2023 - Sakura Weapon Shop**

We are at the shop of Sakura Akihiko. She is a member of the guild, the Shivering HammerSpikes. Other members of this guild include: Sugimori and Genya. Cora and I walk inside. "Can I help you?" A girl with short-cut green hair, in a short orange dress walks up to us.

"Are you Sakura Akihiko?"

"I am. And note, I am _not _related to-"

"Yeah, not related to Kayaba Akihiko. Sugimori sent us. He told us not to ask."

"_Takashi _Sugimori?"

"Yeah."

"What does he need?"

"He and Genya are stuck in a dungeon on the thirty-third floor. He sent _me _of all people to tell you."

"He's stuck in a dungeon!? Why wasn't I there!? Please! Sakayama is it? Come with me to the thirty-third floor! We need to save him!"

**Floor 33 - February 27, 2023 - Labyrinth Dungeon**

"Is this the dungeon?" Cora asks Sakura.

"It should be. I _did _hear the rest of the guild talking about a Labyrinth Dungeon not too long ago, now that I think about it." We step inside of the vine-covered building, our vision enveloped in shadow the moment the door closes behind us.

"I wonder how deep in they are." I say, activating my vision skill. "My vision skill _should _work for the entire party. Can you see any better?"

"I can." Says Sakura.

"A little." Cora says, worryingly. We step closer to the door to the next room, checking for traps along the way. I tap on the door, opening it with a loud creak.

We venture deep into the dungeon, not finding much of anything. We then reach the boss room. "Where the hell are they!?" I say. Just then, a rotting skeleton rises from the ground. It opens it's bony hand and pulls a rusted shortsword from it's back. A name tag appears above its head.

"The Skeleton King!?" Says Sakura, taking a step back.

"Get ready!" I say, drawing my longsword. The boss swung it's sword in a 180 degree arc and almost slashed Cora. I try to parry its strikes, but it is very fast. "Cora, switch!" Cora rushes in, sword in hand. She activates a Sword Skill and jumps into the air. She cuts the Skeleton's left arm off, and it stumbles. "Sakura, are you ready for this!?" Cora looks back at Sakura, who nods. "Switch!" Sakura charges at the Skeleton King, and stabs him with her sword. She's so fast, her blade is a blur to me. She charges as Sword Skill for the final blow, and slashes.

With the Skeleton King dead, all we have to do is wonder where the hell Sugimori and Genya are. "Where the hell do you think they could be?" I ask.

"Are you _sure _it was Takashi who sent the message?" Asks Sakura, crossing her arms and looking at me.

"Maybe you were just wrong about the dungeon." I say.

"That's one possibility." Says Cora.

"I was really hoping that wouldn't be the case."

"What do you mean?" I say.

"If that's true, that means that they're leaving me out of _multiple _dungeon raids. I don't know if they think I'm weak, or if they just don't like me, but-"

"I'm sure they've got a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this!" I say.

"_Hehehehehehehehehe_..." A voice comes from inside of the treasure room. "_All of you. You will all fall before me._"

"Who's there!?" Says Cora. Sakura starts looking around the room rapidly in fear.

"_Come closer. Please. I want to see your face when I kill you..._"

"What!?" Screamed Sakura. A dark figure emerged from the treasure room.

"Who the hell are you!?" I demand. His features appear from the darkness. His player label reads 'Gaia'. His cursor is red. A Player Killer. He holds an emerald longsword in his gloved hand.

I rush over to him, my longsword in hand. He picks me up by the head and throws me to the side. I crash into the brick wall with a grunt. He does the same to Cora, he is going for Sakura.

Gaia grabs Sakura by the neck and picks her up. Cora and I have been infected with paralysis. "Sakura! Cora, his gloves must cause Paralysis!" I say. "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

I try as hard as I can to get up and help her, but the Paralysis is preventing me from movement. "_I bet you're all wondering why I'm doing this._" He says. "_Your, _friend, _Takashi, betrayed me in the other world. I was his friend too. In the other world I mean. Well, Sakura here knows what I'm talking about. One day, he betrayed me. I have him and his friend Genya in my house on floor 14. They are safe. I forced Sugimori to send _you_, Sakayama, a message. Forcing you to try to find the boy. _I _am even the one forcing the members of the Shivering HammerSpikes to talk about this here dungeon. You see, I have been planning this for quite a while. And now, I shall finally get my revenge on Takashi!_" He stabs his sword through Sakura's stomach, killing her almost instantly. "Sakura! No!" Says Cora, tears running down her face.

"Let me talk to Sugimori!" I say. "Please! Let me talk to him!"

"_Very welll. I shall start a voice chat with him._" He opens his menu, and opens a call with Sugimori. "What do you want Gaia!?" A voice comes from Gaia's chat window. It's Takashi!

"Sugimori!" I say.

"Saka?" He says. "Why are you- wait... _How _are you calling from Gaia's menu?"

"He killed Sakura! We're in a dungeon on the thirty-third floor!"

"Oh, the message... Gaia made me-" Gaia stops the call and picks up a teleport crystal.

"_Teleport - Taft._" He disappears into a shining blue light, leaving us in the dungeon to rot. We fall into a deep sleep.

"Hey! Wake up!" I open my eyes slowly. A bald man with a goatee is standing over me. "Saka, you ok?"

"Opilla!" I say, standing up.

"What're you doing down here?" I sigh as I remember what happened.

"My friend, Sugimori, sent me a PM telling me to tell a girl named Sakura that he was stuck in a dungeon. We came here thinking this was the dungeon. We get to the boss room, still no Takashi or Genya. A man named Gaia paralysed us, and killed Sakura. He left us here and teleported to Taft."

"A PKer named Gaia?" Says Opilla. "I heard he jumped from Aincrad on Floor 1. Apparently he felt guilty about his kills." My eyes widen.

"What!?"

"He committed suicide, Saka."

"Help me get Cora." I kneel down beside her and shake her arm. She opens her eyes. I smile at her, and she blushes. I wrap my arms around her. "I'm so glad you're ok!" She puts her hand on my head and leans on me, sitting up.

"Are _you _ok?"

"Yeah." We use teleport crystals to get out of the dungeon and back to Sakura's shop.

We sit down in silence, thinking about the events of the last couple of days. Cora starts to cry, and I get up and sit down next to her. She lay her head on my shoulder and I wrap my arm around her. "Come on," I say. "It's alright." She muffles her crying on my shoulder.

"No." She say. "It's not." I rub her arm, calming her down to talk to her.

"Can I get you anything?"

"No. I just need you to stay here with me."

We sit here for hours, until Takashi bursts in. "Are you serious?!" He says, his eyes watering. I nod. He falls to his knees and starts to cry. Opilla kneels next to him, rubbing his back. A stream of blue energy appears next to us and Swavé emerges. "What's wrong?" He asks, noticing everyone breaking down with emotion. He steps to Cora in my arms and puts his hand on her head.

"Cora?" I say, and she looks up at me. "We are going to get through this, ok?" She nods, and puts her head back onto my shoulder.

**Floor 21 - February 29, 2023 - Sakura Weapon Shop**

Sugimori plants his sword onto the desk in the back room of Sakura's shop. He lazily sits down and starts talking. "So, now that Sakura's gone," he says. "What's gonna happen to the shop?"

"Not sure." I say, looking around the room. "So you two were really close... How did you know each other?"

"I met her in a large city," he closes his eyes, and begins thinking dreamily. "We became friends and went almost everywhere together for a while. Then I left. I found her a year later in a criminal group. It turns out she only joined to find me. Then we bought the game. And then she died."

"How long ago was this?"

"Two days ago."

"Not when she died, when you met her."

"Oh, it must be... 9 years... We met in 2014 so... Yeah, 9 years. God, 9 years gone to waste."

"Seriously? Gone to waste? 9 years with someone can't just go to waste. The memories with them stay with you forever. If anything, your closer to her than you ever have been."

**To be continued...**


	4. The End of the World

SAO - Another's Story

Chapter 4 - The End of the World

Krankome and Harin both died in the Boss fight on Floor 64. On floor 71, the remaining members of out guild joined the top guild on the assault team, the Knights of the Blood Oath. We are now approaching the Floor 75 dungeon, to challenge a boss that has killed more players than any boss before it.

**Floor ****75 - November 7, 2024 - Floor Dungeon**

Commander Heathcliff raises the crystal and opens the gate to the Dungeon. Directly inside is the boss door. He explains to the Assault team a bit about what happened to the Recon team when they challenged this quest. "It will be a difficult battle, but it have faith that we will prevail." He says. "For our day of Liberation!" The Assault team gives a loud war cry and Heathcliff turns to the boss door. I notice a boy dressed all in black slightly to my right. I recognise him. Kirito. He was in the boss fight on Floor 1, and has been on the Assault team a long time. He was granted the unique skill, dual wielding.

Heathcliff taps the door, opening it as the war cry quiets down. A few voices murmur to each other as we brace ourselves to what is to come. "Attack!" Cries the Commander and we charge into the room. We reach the centre - no sign of the boss. Even as the door closes all that we can hear are the confused whispers of the Assault team and brief scuttles of a bug.

"Nothing's happening" Says a heavily armoured player. Eyes widen as we realise the location of the boss.

"Above us!" Cries vice-commander Asuna. Players dive out of the way as _The Skull Reaper _drops from the high ceiling and reveals it's five HP gauges. On impact, three players are killed by the scythes that are this boss's legs.

The team spreads out. Kirito and vice-commander Asuna are attacking the head while the rest of us take it from the side. The Reaper parries my slashes as if it was using a sword of its own. The first HP gauge is down. Around me players are activating sword skills and ripping through the legs of the boss with ease. Second gauge down. I jump onto the beast's spine and dig my sword into it. It cries out as the team reduces the HP gauge to only two filled bars. Kirito is getting really into it, slashing his dual swords into the skull. I manage to switch out with Opilla and he sticks his axe into the spine and wrenches the boss.

One HP gauge. Half. In the red. Commander Heathcliff stops and points his blade at the boss. "Everyone," he calls. "Attack!" Every player charges at The Skull Reaper with Sword Skills ready. I can see many recognisable players from lower boss fights. Kirito. Asuna. Klein. Agil. Various members of the Holy Dragon Alliance. Every hit makes the boss reel with pain and it explodes into millions of tiny shards of green. The _congratulations_ notification appears as every single player - excluding commander Heathcliff - falls to the ground panting. Minutes pass and I notice that Kirito is looking at Heathcliff with widened eyes.

The Black Swordsman equips his _Elucidator_ and charges at the commander. "Kirito!" Says Asuna. "What are you -?!" The 'Immortal Object' hexagon appears next to the commander. Silence falls in the room. "Immortal Object?"

"Yes." Says Kirito. "The system ensures that his HP will never fall into the yellow zone. It always bugged me since day one; where does he hide when he watches us and adjusts the world? But I had forgotten a simple piece of psychology, something every kid knows; there's nothing as boring as watching someone else play an RPG. Isn't that right, Kayaba Akihiko?" Eyes widen and jaws drop.

"Would you be so kind to tell me how you figured it out?" He replied, staying calm.

"The first thing I felt was during our duel. You were _far _too quick."

"I see. That was an unfortunate mistake. You overpowered me to the point that I needed to use the system to cheat." The commander looked around at the horrified faces of the Assault team. "Yes, I am Kayaba Akihiko. And if I may add, I would have been the final boss waiting for you on Floor 100."

"That's bad. The strongest player betrays us to become the final boss?"

"Not a bad storyline, eh?"

"I always thought that you would be the one to stand before me at the end. Dual-Wielding is the skill granted to the player with the quickest reaction time, to then act out the part of the hero to resist against the Demon King. But your power exceeded my expectations. Well, these unexpected events are what make MMORPGs so intriguing."

An elite member of the Knights of the Blood Oath speaks in a broken voice. "Our loyalty... Our hope..." Kayaba opens a menu. "How dare you?!" He rises his sword and charges at Heathcliff. Kayaba presses a button and the KoB member falls to the ground. He continues pressing buttons until everybody - excluding Kirito and himself - is paralysed on the ground. The pain is grimacing.

"What are you going to do?" Asks Kirito. "Kill us all and cover it up?"

"Oh, no. I would never do anything so unfair. Very well, then... I shall await you at the top of Aincrad. But before I leave. Kirito. I feel that I must reward you for deducing my identity. I will give you a chance."

"A chance?"

"A chance to fight me. I will naturally deactivate my Immortal status. If you can kill me, you will clear the game. Every remaining player will be able to log out."

"No, Kirito!" Says Asuna. "We'll just wait for Floor 100. Don't do it." Kirito thinks for half a minute.

"Don't insult me. That's fine. Let's finish this. I'm sorry Asuna, but I can't run away from this opportunity. I'm going to win and end this game.

"I believe in you Kirito."

Kirito stands and says his goodbyes to the friends he has made in this two-year long game of death. "Kayaba," says Kirito. "Before we begin, I have a request. I don't plan on dying here, but if I do, I need to to ensure that Asuna can't kill herself."

"Fine"

"Kirito!" Asuna screeches. "You can't do that! That's unfair! That's _unfair_!"

Heathcliff disables his Immortal status and draws his sword. Kirito is now wielding his dual-swords. The two stare at each other angrily for a couple of minutes and Kirito screams in rage. The black swordsman charges at Kayaba and he parries. Kirito slashes and Kayaba parries. This is how it goes for five minutes until Kirito's _Dark Repulser _breaks and is destroyed. Kayaba grins and begins his slash at Kirito when Asuna shakes off her paralysis and is hit by the sword instead of Kirito. She falls into his arms and he tears up. They talk to each other until she is dead and he picks up her rapier. Kirito slashes at Kayaba lazily and Heathcliff stabs him in the chest. Kirito's face is bored and not in pain. He is just sad. When his HP gauge is in the red, his face turns from sadness to sudden realisation. "Not yet." He manages.

Kirito falls to the ground with 0 HP. The rest of us grimace at the sight of our saviour's death. Players tear up. This all continues until Kirito's figure materialises with yellow shards and picks Asuna's rapier up once again. Kayaba's blade is still poking through his chest. Kirito stabs the rapier through Heathcliff's chest and his HP drops to 0. The two explode into shards of tiny green pieces that float away into the air. The same blue stream that covered me when I entered this game cover me again. I close my eyes.

I wake up on a slab in a white laboratory. White light shines in my eyes, making me squint. A sliding door opens and a large purple monster slides through. Six tentacles extrude out of the abdomen and it slithers up to me. It talks in a metallic yet human-like voice. "This ones awake" Another purple monster slides in and I realise that the SAO incident isn't over. Not until I get back to the real world.


End file.
